Porsche
is not a company that produces concept cars very often. Come to think
of it, only the Porsche Boxster and Carrera GT spring to mind as
concept cars that the German sports car manufacturers has displayed
within the past twenty years. That's not to say that Porsche can't
pull out a nice concept whenever it wants to -- and today, the
company has done just that.

Porsche
unveiled its new 918 Spyder concept that not only brings sleek styling to the table, but also a wealth of high-tech powertrain
goodness. Looking somewhat like a gorgeous mashup up of a Ferrari
F430, Porsche Carrera GT, Porsche Boxster, and Porsche 911 GT1, the
918 Spyder concept features a mid-engine layout, seating for two
people, and all-wheel drive.

The
roadster also features dual side-exiting exhaust pipes on either side
of the vehicle along with a nod
to the past with an intriguing "disk" wheel design.

Being
that this is a Porsche first and foremost, this vehicle is all about
performance. Gone is the flat-6 that powers the mid-engined Boxster
and Cayman (along with the rear-engined 911) and in its place is a
high-revving (9,200 rpm) V8 engine producing 500 hp. As if that
wasn't enough, there are also two electric motors installed in the
vehicle (one for the front axle, one for the rear axle). The electric
motors add another 218 hp to the mix.

Porsche
isn't spoiling the fun by using a continuously variable transmission
(CVT) in the 918 Spyder -- instead, the company is using a version of
its seven-speed Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) dual-clutch
transmission which transmits power to the rear wheels. The front
wheels are driven by a fixated ratio transmission.

Porsche
says that the plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder can bolt to 60 mph in just
3.2 seconds and can travel 16 miles on battery power alone. The
3,285-pound vehicle is said to deliver an estimated 78 mpg (U.S.)
according to Porsche.

No
one knows if all of this performance goodness will ever make its way
into a production vehicle, but one can hope that at least the styling
cues and maybe a toned down version of the hybrid system could make
it into a production vehicle.